Written Answers Nos. 83-90
83. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will fill the five vacancies on the board of the State Examination Commission; the number of persons who expressed an interest to be appointed to the board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13383/13]
View answerThere are currently no vacancies on the board of the State Examinations Commission. No vacancies are due to arise until the 4/4/2015
84. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills when he will fill the nine vacancies on the board of the Higher Education Authority; the number of persons who expressed an interest to be appointed to the board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13384/13]
View answerIn accordance with the requirements of the Higher Education Authority Act 1971, members of the Authority are appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Minister for Education and Skills, following consultation with the Chairman of the Authority. There are no current vacancies on the Board.
A number of vacancies arose on the Authority at the end of January 2012, and, in accordance with Government policy, expressions of interest were sought through the Public Appointments Service (PAS) from suitably qualified and experienced persons for consideration for appointment to the Authority. A total of 81 persons registered an interest in serving as a member of the board through this process. Two of the nine positions filled on the Authority came through the PAS.
86. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to bring back the minor works scheme for schools which were a vital part of the on going maintenance of these schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13397/13]
View answerWhen the Minor Works Grant last issued in November 2011 for the school year 2011/2012, I stated that given the need to focus on meeting the demand for additional school places, it was unlikely that funding would be available for the Minor Works Grant in the coming years. This is borne out by the fact that in 2012, 85% of the capital expenditure in the school sector was in respect of large scale projects, additional accommodation and prefab replacement. The balance was expended on site acquisition, emergency works, furniture and equipment provision and commitments arising from earlier years.
The capital allocation that is available for the school sector in 2013 will likewise be expended primarily on the provision of additional permanent school places by means of large scale projects, the additional accommodation scheme and prefab replacement. Site acquisition, emergency works and furniture and equipment approvals will account for the balance of this year's allocation.
87. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has or intends to commission any reports on the use of Ipads uploaded with school text books in secondary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13417/13]
View answerEncouraging the deployment of high-quality curriculum-relevant digital resources is a clear priority for the ICT in Schools programme. In this context, I am fully aware of developments in the digital textbook publishing industry and I believe that the digital format has the potential to add significant value to teaching and learning for the future. I believe it is important for schools, in conjunction with parents, to retain local autonomy in deciding whether to recommend their pupils purchase e-books and how best to manage their integration into classroom practice over the medium and long terms. In making this decision each school should consider all the available information and in this regard the Professional Development Service for Teachers – which now incorporates the ICT in Schools function is available to advise schools.
Work has commenced on the development of a new ICT Strategy for schools. The first step in this process is the completion of an ICT Infrastructure census in schools. The census questionnaire will be disseminated to post primary schools next week and to primary schools in the coming weeks. The new ICT Strategy will address the new policy challenges and opportunities arising from major developments in curricular reform, digital publishing, digital content dissemination tools generally, cloud services, portable computing and student devices and the deployment of high speed broadband at post-primary level.
88. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that the pupil teacher ratio at a school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny is maintained in view of the rural nature of the school and the serious difficulty the loss of a teacher would cause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13428/13]
View answerThe Government has protected front-line services in schools to the greatest extent possible in the recent budget and there will be no reduction in teacher numbers in primary schools for the 2013/14 school year as a result of the budget. The DEIS scheme for disadvantaged schools is also fully protected with no overall changes to staffing levels or funding as a result of the budget. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on my Department's website. The staffing arrangements for the 2013/14 school year (Circular 0013/2013) have recently been published. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September.
The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the staffing schedule, Circular 0007/2012. The allocation process at individual school level is currently underway. The final staffing position for all schools will ultimately not be known until the Autumn. At that stage the allocation process will be fully completed and all appeals to the Staffing Appeals Board will have been considered.
89. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he or his Department is aware of the number and location of historical or heritage sites which are open to the public or are likely to become open to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13365/13]
View answerThere are a total of almost 1,000 individual National Monuments in State care at approximately 768 locations around the country. These are managed and maintained by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and include both sites which are in full State ownership and others which are privately-owned but where Guardianship arrangements exist and where the OPW provides maintenance services. A small number of sites included in the list have National Monuments which are State owned and others which are privately held at the same location. A full list of the National Monuments in State care has been sent to the Deputy under separate cover.
As a general policy, OPW facilitates visitor access to as many National Monument sites as possible. However, access is not always feasible because of a range of issues including physical location, risks associated with dangerous structures and restrictions imposed in some cases by landowners who may wish to limit access, either temporarily or more longer term, by reason of accident risk, livestock etc. OPW would estimate that approximately 10% of the National Monument sites in its care are not accessible at any given time.
As part of its remit, the OPW also provides enhanced visitor access, together with Guide facilities in some cases, at 70 of the more prominent visitor locations nationally. These include many of the most iconic heritage sites in the country such as Kilmainham Gaol, the Rock of Cashel, Newgrange etc as well as a number of smaller, less well known properties. Year-round access with full Guide services is provided at 24 of these locations and a further 7 are accessible unguided. The remainder are open with Guide services on a seasonal basis on varying dates and for different lengths of seasons generally between March and October. Details of these sites and their opening arrangements are available on www.heritageireland.ie
There are no plans at present to extend the number of sites presented with a full or partial OPW Guide service. However, commencing in 2012, the OPW engaged with local communities in many parts of the country and sought proposals from a number of local Groups interested in facilitating public access at a number of heritage locations and times not currently provided for. This scheme will be repeated in 2013.
90. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the State agencies that have been closed or merged during this term of Government; the savings, if any, that have resulted from the changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13188/13]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my answer to Deputy Brendan Griffin (PQ Ref No: 364) on Tuesday, 5th February, 2013.
